Pudzianowski's flaws leave Thompson confident ahead of KSW 17 matchup

James Thompson (16-14) looks at Mariusz Pudzianowski (3-2) and sees a reminder of a mistake he once made. A very big reminder.

Now on the eve of his second fight with the former “World’s Strongest Man,” Thompson isn’t sure whether Pudzianowski has learned the lesson that bigger is not always better. But he doesn’t really care.

“At the end of the day, I got offered to fight him again,” Thompson told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “I thought, ‘Why not?’ I’ll beat Mariusz up again.”

Thompson submitted Pudzianowski with an arm triangle when they met six months ago in Poland’s biggest MMA promotion, KSW. Even before he finished the choke in the second frame, Pudzianowski’s hands were at half-mast, and it took little effort for him to take the fight to the ground and coax a tapout.

A few minutes earlier, Thompson had been knocked out on his feet by a flurry of punches from Pudzianowski. But he had the gas to go longer, and his opponent did not.

“When I saw him coming into the sport, I just knew he was going to make the same mistake I have,” Thompson said. “And I’ve watched, him and he has made the same mistakes I’ve made, but on a higher level. With more people watching him and more attention.”

The two are now scheduled to meet a second time at KSW 17, which takes place Nov. 26 on Pudzianowski’s home turf in Poland. Thompson gets a chuckle out of the promo videos for the event, which don’t paint him in the best light.

“I watched that trailer, and I was like, ‘Did I win that fight?’ he said. “I’m sure I won the last fight. They just had clips of me getting beat up. But if it gets the views, then that’s the way they promote it.”

Thompson, a former debt collector from Rochdale, England, can relate to his large opponent. He’s thrown around a few barbells in his day, but when he got into fighting some 10 years ago, he quickly realized how much of a liability big muscles were.

“I just thought I’d get bigger and bigger, and it doesn’t work like that,” he said. “It really doesn’t. I suffered a few losses and gassed out numerous times.”

Pudzianowski stands at 3-2 since leaving the strongman circuit for a career in MMA. While he’s managed to draw plenty of curious onlookers with maybe only a surface knowledge of the sport, he hasn’t been taken seriously by hardcore fans.

Likewise, Thompson’s MMA career isn’t much for front-page news these days. He participated in what’s now the second most-watched MMA fight of all time when he fought Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson three years ago on CBS. But that time in the spotlight is shadowed by long losing streaks that have prompted fans to write him off.

Sunday’s fight isn’t much more than a footnote for most. But Thompson said he’s still committed to the sport and believes he can make an impact, and with a new training camp, he said he’s found a group of people in Bristol, England who care about turning around his career.

“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs just with life in general that I wouldn’t begin to bother you with,” he said. “I’ve had some bad losses, and in turn I haven’t trained as well…you get into kind of a repetitive circle, and it hurts your confidence.

“That last win, I was committed. I had six weeks for the Mariusz fight. I still looked terrible, but I was physically fit. With that win, it gave me that confidence. I was taking it one fight at a time, and I’m thinking, I’ve got this one coming up, I’ll do it and see what happens next. Just get into the habit of winning. Because that’s what it’s about, getting into the habit. It’s much better when you’re on the winning side of things.”

While a win over Pudzianowski probably won’t get him a title shot any time soon, it will build Thompson’s confidence, and that’s a good enough start.

“Maybe he’s improved massively and he’s going to try to kick my ass,” Thompson said. “I don’t know, but there’s only one way to find out.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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